(CNSNews.com) – A Republican senator has introduced a constitutional amendment that would apply term limits to all members of Congress. U.S. Representatives would serve a maximum of three two-year terms, and U.S. senators would serve a maximum of two six-year terms.
"Americans know real change in Washington will never happen until we end the era of permanent politicians," said Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina, who sponsored the amendment. Co-sponsors include Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.).
Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority vote approval in the House and Senate and must be ratified by three-fourths of the states.
"As long as members have the chance to spend their lives in Washington, their interests will always skew toward spending taxpayer dollars to buyoff special interests, covering over corruption in the bureaucracy, fundraising, relationship building among lobbyists, and trading favors for pork – in short, amassing their own power,’ DeMint said in a news release announcing the proposed amendment.
DeMint noted that over the last 20 years, Washington politicians have been reelected about 90 percent of the time because the system is heavily tilted in favor of incumbents. “If we really want to put an end to business as usual, we’ve got to have new leaders coming to Washington instead of rearranging the deck chairs as the ship goes down.”
Sen. Coburn echoed the call to replace “career politicians” with “citizen legislators who care more about the next generation than their next election.”
Coburn also criticized the power of incumbency: “Incumbency allows politicians to raise millions of dollars in campaign funds in exchange for earmarks. Incumbency gives Congress the power to raise money for itself,” he said. “Finally, with redistricting, incumbents can choose their voters rather than voters choosing their representatives. Term limits is the best way to break this cycle.”
As for those who argue that only long-serving, experienced politicians have the skills to lead the nation – look how it’s working out, DeMint said: “It wasn’t the ‘people’ who gave us a $12 trillion debt, an IRS tax code seven times longer than the Bible, over 1,700 departments of the federal government, trillion dollar deficits as far as the eye can see, $100 trillion long-term shortfall in Social Security and Medicare, the Wall Street and auto bailouts, and the pending health care takeover.”
Self-imposed term limits don’t work, DeMint said. “We must have term limits for all or term limits will never succeed. Only when we apply the same rules to all will we be able to enact vital bipartisan reforms.”
DeMint says term limits for all members of Congress would increase legislative turnover, expand the field of candidates who run for office, and instill transparency and accountability in public officials by breaking long-lasting ties to special interests and lobbyists.
DeMint was elected to Congress in 1998, serving as a U.S. representative until 2004, when he won election to the Senate.
Congress, which is full of entrenched politicians, is unlikely to pass the amendment.